[Trust in Public Health Agencies Plummets in the US Amid Pandemic, New Poll Shows
Trust in public health agencies in the United States has been steadily declining since the Covid-19 pandemic, with President Donald Trump and his administration facing an American public deeply divided on the issue, according to a new poll. The poll, published by the KFF, a nonprofit health policy research, polling and news organization, shows that less than half of US adults trust Trump and his nominee, Robert F. Kennedy, to make the right recommendations on health issues.
The poll found that Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to express trust in federal health agencies, with 85% of Democrats saying they trust the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared to 39% of Republicans. Similarly, 73% of Democrats trust the US Department of Health and Human Services, while only 42% of Republicans do.
However, Republicans are nearly as likely to trust Trump and Kennedy as much as they do their own doctors, with 80% of Republicans having favorable views of Trump and Kennedy, compared to just over 40% of Democrats.
The poll also found that the vast majority of US adults still believe that the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks, but trust has been eroding over the past year and a half, especially among Republican parents. About 8 in 10 parents say they keep their child up to date with recommended childhood vaccines, but that share has fallen from about 9 in 10 since 2023. About 1 in 6 parents now report delaying or skipping some shots, up from 10% in 2023.
The KFF survey also found that some of the decline in trust may be attributable to the false claim about links between the MMR vaccine and autism, which has been pushed by Kennedy and others. About two-thirds of US adults and parents say they have heard the claim, and the KFF survey found a mix of opinions on it. Parents who lean toward believing the false claim about the link between the MMR vaccine and autism are more likely to say they have delayed or skipped some vaccines for their children than parents who say it is false.
Ahead of Kennedy’s confirmation hearings, the American Academy of Pediatrics collected dozens of testimonials to emphasize the important role that vaccines play in the long-term health and well-being of children. “Pediatricians see firsthand the community benefits of immunization,” said Dr. Susan J. Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “We’ve heard from our members across the country, in rural communities and urban areas, who work in small practices and who are part of large institutions. One unifying theme of these stories: vaccines allow children to grow up healthy and thrive.”
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